The Baby Miracle

by Rayner, Holly

  It’s all I can do to hang on to my air of sophistication as Egerton pledges to facilitate the meeting arrangements between me and Chase. I thank him and end the call.

  It’s really happening. I’m really going to see him again. And I’m really going to have to figure out how to tell him. He needs to know he’s going to be a father. That’s what this whole scheme has been about.

  It certainly hasn’t been about the anxious fluttering in my stomach at the thought of seeing Chase Harker again, or the amazing chemistry the two of us had. Focus on what matters, I tell myself sternly. The baby. This is about the baby. Nothing else.

  I just hope I can remember that when I see him.

  Chapter 13

  Chase

  One Month Later

  Being on the island of Tala is like being at a resort. It’s tiny but luxurious, privately owned and home almost exclusively to the wealthy. And although coming here always feels a little strange—despite the resort vibe, it’s not a very touristy place, since all the beaches are private—I can’t deny that it’s beautiful to look at. Blue, sparkling water, white sandy beaches, and pristine architecture that’s immaculately maintained.

  I’ve been to many island resorts in my life. Most islands have a less polished area somewhere outside the resort grounds. But on Tala, everything is clean and glittering.

  I spent last night in Muharraq, the former capital of Bahrain. Last night, after the long flight from Chicago, all I wanted to do was crash on my soft hotel bed and sleep for a week. But by the time morning came, I was myself again, and I boarded a ferry to bring me over to Tala first thing after breakfast.

  Now I sit in the prow of the ferry, inhaling the sea air and trying to relax. I’m not at all excited about the meeting I have today. Getting me out of things like this is exactly why I have an assistant, and he really dropped the ball this time. Wylie should never have had to call me. He should have figured out a way to shut down that publisher lady without getting me involved.

  I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I don’t want to be angry at Wylie. He tries hard, and this is the first time he’s failed to protect my privacy in all the time since my retirement.

  Eventually someone was bound to find you, I remind myself. At least she’s giving you a chance to control the story.

  Still, I’m anxious and irritable as the boat pulls into Tala’s main harbor. I step onto the dock, surveying the calm seas around me and trying to take inspiration from them. There are good things about being here. Tala is beautiful, and the weather is warm and sunny. I’m glad Georgia Walsh suggested we meet here. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Tala.

  I grab my suitcase and head along the boardwalk toward the beachfront hotel where I’ll be staying tonight. It feels like falling back through time. This is the very same hotel where I made my first successful investment. I still remember the feeling as if it were yesterday.

  It was a kind of risk I’d never experienced in my modeling career—the uncertainty that things might not go well, that I might come off worse than I’d started. But at least a financial failure wouldn’t be as emotionally devastating as what I’d just been through with Ashley. As long as I wouldn’t be hurt like that again, I would be okay.

  I have to admit, I’m a lot more nervous today than I was back then. What if whoever’s writing this book about me has uncovered the real reason I left modeling? What if all my secrets are about to be made public? I don’t think I could stand it.

  Checking in to the resort is quick and friendly. The receptionist gives me a folder with information about the many amenities available on the property and included with my stay—comped meals, access to the spa and gym, equipment rentals on the beach. I thank her, but I won’t be using any of that. As much as I like Tala, I’m here to take care of business and leave as quickly as possible. With any luck, I’ll be on the boat back to Muharraq first thing in the morning.

  I grab my suitcase and head up to my suite to refresh myself quickly before I meet with Georgia Walsh. I need to project confidence and authority and not let her see how shaken I am.

  The view from my room is spectacular. I can see the whole island spread out below me, like something from a postcard. It’s hard to believe that something so messy could be waiting for me just a few stories below. From up here, everything looks perfect.

  Letting out a sigh, I turn away from the window. I can’t lose sight of what I’m here to do. I run through my talking points in my mind as I splash some water on my face and run a comb through my hair.

  Keep it strictly business. Give them as many details about the investments as it takes to keep the conversation away from personal things. And if they have intimate information about you—deny, deny, deny.

  Pocketing my room key, I step back into the hallway and head for the elevator. The ride down to the lobby seems to pass in a blink, and my thoughts feel scattered by the time I emerge onto the tiled floor. Georgia Walsh and I have arranged to meet in the hotel bar, a breezy, open venue located just off the lobby.

  Maybe a drink will make this conversation easier, I think to myself. Hell, maybe it will even be fun to talk about everything after so long. I have had a successful transition to investing in technology. I should take pride in it.

  Somewhat bolstered by my pep talk to myself, I enter the bar and look around. I found a picture of Georgia Walsh online, so I know who to look for, but I don’t see her anywhere. I guess I beat her here. I’m about to take a seat and wait for her, but suddenly I stop dead in my tracks.

  Because I’ve seen someone else. Someone I never expected to see again.

  “Kendall?”

  She turns at the sound of her name. I can’t believe it. It’s really her. Kendall is sitting right in front of me, at a bar in Tala.

  “Chase,” she says. “You’re here.”

  “I’m here on business. I can’t believe you’re here.” I motion toward the seat next to her, silently asking her permission to take it, and she nods. “This is so strange, isn’t it? I mean, first we meet in Applewood, which is random enough considering it’s a tiny town no one’s ever heard of and we both live in the same city—”

  “Hey, be nice to Applewood,” she says playfully.

  “I’m sorry. But you know what I mean.”

  “I do. It was an unusual meeting.”

  “But now to find you here of all places? In Tala? What are you even doing here?”

  “I…well, I’m meeting somebody.”

  “Are you here on business too?”

  “No. Not exactly.”

  “Is it your first time here?” I ask her. It must be. Tala isn’t a vacation spot, not unless you’re pretty rich. Kendall might live in Chicago, but she’s a small-town girl at her core.

  “It is,” she says. “This place is pretty swanky, isn’t it? Like, the whole island, not just this resort. It’s kind of intimidating.”

  “I could show you around,” I offer, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I can think. “I’ll have the afternoon free after my meeting.”

  She cocks her head. “I sort of got the idea you didn’t want to spend any more time with me.”

  I can’t blame her for that.

  “Listen, Kendall, about that night we spent together—”

  “You don’t have to say anything,” she interrupts, her cheeks going red.

  “No, I do,” I insist. “It wasn’t anything about you. I need you to know that. And I’ve regretted the way I left that morning, leaving you a note and slipping out without saying goodbye. I should have handled that better. It was selfish of me.”

  She shrugs. “I get it. You wanted a clean break.”

  She’s not wrong, but I really don’t want to get into why I wanted a clean break.

  “Be that as it may,” I say, “I could have given you the courtesy of a conversation. And I really do apologize for that.”

  “Apology accepted,” Kendall says. “Really. Let’s put that behind us.”

&nb
sp; “Are you sure?”

  “It was one night,” she says. “We both went into it knowing that. And you acted accordingly. I’m not angry about it, Chase. I suppose I do wish you’d stayed until I woke up.”

  “Again, I’m so sorry.”

  “But you had a plane to catch. You needed to get back to Chicago. I can understand that. You didn’t owe me anything.”

  “You’re being very understanding,” I tell her. “You would be within your rights to not want to speak to me.”

  “Well, I do. Want to speak to you, I mean.” She lets out a nervous laugh. “The truth is, you’re not the only one of us who’s done something questionable. I owe you a bit of an apology too.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s a little complicated. Do you think we could get a drink and I’ll explain?”

  I flag down the bartender and request a beer.

  “I’ll have a cola, please,” Kendall says.

  “You’re not drinking. Should I not be drinking?” I’m suddenly a little embarrassed. It’s fairly early in the day, after all. I don’t want to give Kendall the wrong impression.

  She waves a hand. “No, please. It is a resort bar. Enjoy yourself. Really.”

  I give in and accept my beer from the bartender. Seeing Kendall again has taken the edge off my anxiety, but I do still have that meeting coming up, and it would be good to quiet my nerves a little more before Georgia Walsh arrives. I glance around again, but I still don’t see her.

  I take a sip of my beer. “So. You were about to explain something to me?”

  “Yes.” She takes a deep breath. “You see, our meeting here isn’t actually a coincidence at all. I came here to see you.”

  “You what?” I frown. “How did you know I was going to be here? Only my assistant and my business contact knew I was coming.”

  “Georgia Walsh,” she says.

  “How did you know about Georgia?”

  “I work for Georgia Walsh,” she says. “She’s my editor.”

  “And you’re here with her?” I ask. “Did she bring you? Why would she do that?” Georgia didn’t exactly strike me as the kind of person who’d be interested in helping people reconnect. A terrible thought strikes me. “Is this for the book or something? You’re not going to be in it, are you?”

  “No, it isn’t that,” she says, fidgeting a little in her chair. “Georgia isn’t here at all, actually.”

  “What are you talking about? She’s meeting me for an interview for a book she’s publishing—”

  “No,” Kendall says. “There isn’t any book, Chase. And Georgia doesn’t even know I’ve come. It was me the whole time. I’m the one who called your assistant and told him we were publishing a story about you.”

  “It was you?”

  “I’m sorry for lying,” she says. “I tried to get through to you using my own name, but of course your assistant has no idea who I am. He thought I was some random journalist trying to do a story on you. But when I used Georgia’s name, he paid attention.”

  “Are you doing a story on me?”

  “No.”

  I’m not sure I believe her. Going to all this trouble just to get in touch with me, lying, impersonating her boss. There’s definitely something suspicious about it. I want to trust Kendall. But is that just because the chemistry between us was so powerful that I can’t stand to believe she’d do something to hurt me?

  People are selfish, I remind myself. No matter how good you think things are between you, people can betray your trust and break your heart. And besides, you hardly know Kendall, really. She could have been using you all along.

  “I didn’t even realize you knew who I was,” I say bleakly.

  “I didn’t at first. I put it together while we were at the bar in Applewood.”

  Before we slept together, in other words.

  “So did you go home with me just to get a story?”

  “No,” she says. “Chase, no. Of course not. That night was—”

  “That night was based on a lie.”

  “No. I never lied to you, not then,” she says. Her words come quickly, desperately. “You didn’t bring your identity up. I thought you didn’t want me to know.”

  “I didn’t want you to know. Because I was afraid something like this might happen.”

  “Chase, I did think about doing a story about you that night,” she says. “But—”

  I shake my head. “Then you were just after a story. I can’t believe I’ve spent all this time feeling bad about how I left things with you.”

  “Will you just listen to me?” she asks. “Please?”

  I fold my arms across my chest. “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “I thought about doing a story, but then I didn’t,” she says. “I knew enough about you after that night that I could have broken it if I’d wanted to. But I left it alone.”

  “You didn’t leave it alone,” I point out. “You brought me halfway around the world based on a lie. You don’t get extra credit for not having lied to me the first night we met. You lied to bring me here, and that’s a big lie.”

  “I know,” she says. “You’re right. But I thought if we could just sit down together, if you’d just talk to me for a minute—”

  “You thought what? That I’d agree to let you write some story about me? That I’d break years of silence for you just because we had one good night together? Is that why you slept with me?”

  “Of course not!” She sounds horrified, and I have to admit that I believe her. “Chase, I’d never do something like that. I went home with you because I wanted to. Because I was having a good time with you. Nothing more. I promise.”

  “Okay,” I say grudgingly. “But that doesn’t change the fact that you brought me here under false pretenses.” I rub a hand over my face, feeling suddenly exhausted. “Look, this is too weird. I’m going to go back up to my room. I won’t tell your boss what you did. I don’t want to get you in trouble. But maybe it’s better if you and I don’t see each other anymore.”

  “We weren’t seeing each other anyway,” she points out.

  “Yeah. I’m thinking maybe that was the right call.” I get up from the bar. “It was nice to see you again, Kendall. I hope you get home safely.”

  I turn and head back to the elevator, wondering if it’s possible to get a night flight back to Chicago. I’m definitely soured on this whole island right now.

  “Chase, wait,” Kendall calls after me.

  I don’t want to. I don’t owe her anything, not after what she’s told me. I realize that traveling isn’t as big a deal for me as it is for some people—the flight to Tala isn’t going to impact me financially, even though I did go first class—but that doesn’t mean I deserve to be jerked around like this.

  I should walk out on her right now and never speak to her again. But I find myself stopping in my tracks instead. At least I have the grit not to turn and go back to her. But I’ll stand here until she’s finished with me. I’ll give her that much.

  But she’s getting nothing in terms of information. I won’t even confirm or deny anything she might have guessed about me. She says she didn’t bring me here for an article, but I don’t know what other reason there could possibly be. Well, she isn’t going to get it. My privacy is the most precious thing I have left.

  Kendall approaches me from behind. “Please,” she says. “I know this is crazy. But please just talk with me. We’ve both come all this way.”

  I don’t answer. I can’t. I don’t want to cause a scene. I want her to give up on me and walk away. I want this over with, so I can go home to Chicago and forget the whole incident.

  “Chase, the truth is…the truth is that I had to do it,” she says.

  “You didn’t have to do anything,” I bite out.

  Immediately, I could kick myself for already breaking my own no-talking rule. This is going to be harder than I thought. I knew the chemistry between Kendall and me was powerful, but it never occurred to
me that I couldn’t resist her even if I wanted to. But there’s no logic to why I’m still standing here, still letting her make her case.

  Leave, I tell myself. Just leave.

  “I did have to,” she says, and to my horror, her voice breaks. It triggers something in me, makes me want to reach out and wrap my arms around her. I fight that impulse as hard as I can.

  “Why?” I ask her instead. “Did your editor make you? To get a good story? To save your job? Why did you have to?”

  “I told you, Georgia doesn’t know I’m here.”

  “Then why did you have to do this?”

  “Because I’m pregnant.”

  The words hit me so hard I feel as if I’ve left my body, as if I’ve become a spectator to this bizarre scene instead of a participant. I observe myself turning slowly, facing Kendall. She’s on the verge of tears.

  “I’m pregnant,” she says again. “And it’s yours.”

  Chapter 14

  Chase

  In a way, it was better when I thought she’d brought me here for the sake of advancing her career. At least that was rational, even if it was cold and calculating. It was something I could understand.

  I can’t understand this at all.

  And Kendall is standing there with tears in her eyes, looking like she’s about to fall apart. I want is to get as far away from her as I can, but I can’t. She has to understand.

  Not wanting to have this conversation in full view of all the bar’s patrons, I take Kendall by the arm.

  “There’s a table in the corner,” I say. “We can talk there.”

  If she really is crazy, she’s hiding it well. Kendall seems genuinely nervous and upset as we make our way over to the corner table. Either she believes what she’s saying or else she’s a fantastic actor.

  I try to square the woman in front of me now with the one I met in Applewood four months ago. The Kendall I met that night was smart, funny, playful, and beautiful. She was the kind of person I could imagine falling for, if I had been in a place to let myself fall for anybody. Now her beauty remains, but I can’t see any of the other qualities I admired in her. Bringing me to Tala under false pretenses wasn’t smart or funny. Pretending she’s pregnant with my baby is not a game.